Most comprehensive work I’ve seen on realignment.

Great read!

Must read entirely.

EDIT: (just so you have an idea of what bombshells are inside)

Major Takeaways:

Secret 7 in the ACC

Quote:While the Pac-12 and Big 12 fight their western expansion battle, the ACC is, in many ways, fighting internally.

A subset of seven schools in the 14-member conference has coalesced over what many of them describe as an untenable situation. Officials from the seven schools, led by Florida State and Clemson, have met a handful of times over the last several months, with their lawyers examining the grant-of-rights to determine just how unbreakable it is.

Quote:If the seven agree to dissolve the current grant-of-rights agreement (we don’t know yet if this is a possibility), they may add a couple of more schools and begin their own association in hopes of it being more lucrative. This comes with its own issues, of course. You’d need a broadcast partner or private equity to fund such an endeavor. And, as one official asks, “Will it really be that much more lucrative?”

SDSU Exit Fee "Triples" on July 1

Quote:One thing is certain: The Pac-12 plans to expand by adding San Diego State and maybe SMU coinciding with its completion of a new TV deal. But there is a deadline. To start play in 2024, San Diego State owes the Mountain West an exit fee of about $17 million. That triples in cost on July 1, a reason for a quasi-deadline to the situation.

Big 12 could expand end of the month

Quote:Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is aggressively pursuing expansion targets in an attempt to reach 14 or 16 members. Top priority are the Arizona schools, Colorado and Utah, but there are plenty of other potential replacements if the Pac-12 programs choose to stay.

Though San Diego State seems bound for the Pac-12—it is their preference—Yormark has held conversations with the school’s leadership about being the Big 12’s only program in the Pacific Time zone. UConn, the reigning men’s basketball champions, is a play for a foothold in the northeast as well as adding another basketball powerhouse to what currently is the best hoops league in the country. And of Memphis, the Tigers finished as a finalist the last time the Big 12 expanded.

Yormark’s interest in UNLV seems like a calculated maneuver. Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, a former casino executive who resides in Las Vegas, is slowly shifting the conference’s hub to Sin City. In an interesting wrinkle, could Kliavkoff’s targeting of SMU be a similar play? SMU is located in the Big 12’s own hub city of Dallas.

The Big 12’s expansion decisions could be solidified in a matter of weeks. Conference administrators meet at the end of the month in West Virginia, including school presidents.

This is a great piece. I'm kind of shocked that this thread doesn't have 50 comments already. It has a LOT of information and specifics and it's from a real reputable reporter. We've got tons of comments on Monty Show threads and random Tweets from people with agendas... but no one is commenting on what might be the most news-packed actual report on P5 realignment that we've seen in months? No one wants to talk about the group of 7 ACC schools that have been meeting together about revenue and legal options (and what those options are and who that group of 7 might be)? No one wants to talk about the Big 12 looking at SDSU, UNLV, UConn and Memphis as legit expansion options? All of this from a legitimate reporter from a major news outlet as opposed to a random podcast/YouTube/Twitter personality?!

Dellenger has impressed me as much as any reporter in this round of realignment: very thorough, researches the story from all angles, and isn't just parroting one particular side's agenda.

Major Takeaways:

Secret 7 in the ACC

Quote:While the Pac-12 and Big 12 fight their western expansion battle, the ACC is, in many ways, fighting internally.

A subset of seven schools in the 14-member conference has coalesced over what many of them describe as an untenable situation. Officials from the seven schools, led by Florida State and Clemson, have met a handful of times over the last several months, with their lawyers examining the grant-of-rights to determine just how unbreakable it is.

Quote:If the seven agree to dissolve the current grant-of-rights agreement (we don’t know yet if this is a possibility), they may add a couple of more schools and begin their own association in hopes of it being more lucrative. This comes with its own issues, of course. You’d need a broadcast partner or private equity to fund such an endeavor. And, as one official asks, “Will it really be that much more lucrative?”

WHAT?! There are 7 within the ACC that are discussing killing the conference and forming a new conference!

SDSU Exit Fee "Triples" on July 1

Quote:One thing is certain: The Pac-12 plans to expand by adding San Diego State and maybe SMU coinciding with its completion of a new TV deal. But there is a deadline. To start play in 2024, San Diego State owes the Mountain West an exit fee of about $17 million. That triples in cost on July 1, a reason for a quasi-deadline to the situation.

That's a bombshell I was not expecting.

SDSU's exit fee is currently $17 Million but after July 1st it becomes $51 Million!

Big 12 could expand end of the month

Quote:Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is aggressively pursuing expansion targets in an attempt to reach 14 or 16 members. Top priority are the Arizona schools, Colorado and Utah, but there are plenty of other potential replacements if the Pac-12 programs choose to stay.

Though San Diego State seems bound for the Pac-12—it is their preference—Yormark has held conversations with the school’s leadership about being the Big 12’s only program in the Pacific Time zone. UConn, the reigning men’s basketball champions, is a play for a foothold in the northeast as well as adding another basketball powerhouse to what currently is the best hoops league in the country. And of Memphis, the Tigers finished as a finalist the last time the Big 12 expanded.

Yormark’s interest in UNLV seems like a calculated maneuver. Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, a former casino executive who resides in Las Vegas, is slowly shifting the conference’s hub to Sin City. In an interesting wrinkle, could Kliavkoff’s targeting of SMU be a similar play? SMU is located in the Big 12’s own hub city of Dallas.

The Big 12’s expansion decisions could be solidified in a matter of weeks. Conference administrators meet at the end of the month in West Virginia, including school presidents.

We heard a lot about the 4C. We have heard some about SDSU.

I didn't expect to see UConn back in the realignment game.
Memphis makes sense in my opinion, probably more deserving than Houston.
UNLV is interesting to say the least.

(05-15-2023 09:43 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  This is a great piece. I'm kind of shocked that this thread doesn't have 50 comments already. It has a LOT of information and specifics and it's from a real reputable reporter. We've got tons of comments on Monty Show threads and random Tweets from people with agendas... but no one is commenting on what might be the most news-packed actual report on P5 realignment that we've seen in months? No one wants to talk about the group of 7 ACC schools that have been meeting together about revenue and legal options (and what those options are and who that group of 7 might be)? No one wants to talk about the Big 12 looking at SDSU, UNLV, UConn and Memphis as legit expansion options? All of this from a legitimate reporter from a major news outlet as opposed to a random podcast/YouTube/Twitter personality?!

Dellenger has impressed me as much as any reporter in this round of realignment: very thorough, researches the story from all angles, and isn't just parroting one particular side's agenda.

I think a lot of posters rely on the OP to summarize the article for them but this one is so wide ranging and has so many details I struggled finding a way to summarize it.

I implore everyone to read the whole article themselves.

Its groundbreaking and unbias.

The single greatest article on realignment of the year.

(05-15-2023 09:43 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  This is a great piece. I'm kind of shocked that this thread doesn't have 50 comments already. It has a LOT of information and specifics and it's from a real reputable reporter. We've got tons of comments on Monty Show threads and random Tweets from people with agendas... but no one is commenting on what might be the most news-packed actual report on P5 realignment that we've seen in months? No one wants to talk about the group of 7 ACC schools that have been meeting together about revenue and legal options (and what those options are and who that group of 7 might be)? No one wants to talk about the Big 12 looking at SDSU, UNLV, UConn and Memphis as legit expansion options? All of this from a legitimate reporter from a major news outlet as opposed to a random podcast/YouTube/Twitter personality?!

Dellenger has impressed me as much as any reporter in this round of realignment: very thorough, researches the story from all angles, and isn't just parroting one particular side's agenda.

Probably because there was another thread started about 15 minutes before this one.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-970130.html

The hazards of a forum, I guess lol

And I agree, this is a great article.

And this all happened 2 weeks ago?

Wow.

Guys....

BC and WF are bad in terms of overall valuations, but they are not worth 2 million individually. This CANNOT HAPPEN mathematically without ND. They'd need some of the west coast schools as well. They'd have no NY (kind of WITH ND), Philli, LA, or PNW presence (if PAC schools are not involved).

Let's take off the lawyer caps and put on the science caps for a minute. NOT POSSIBLE.

It sounds juicy though, and I'm not surprised people would take the SI bait given the lack of news lately.

So here's what I think is the fun part.

Every, Every, EVERY fbs school in the country is going to read this article.

And it names names. We now have a broad list of B12 school targets. And everyone of those targets can now be assessed by the ACC and B12.

This article also gave conferences cover for backfill options should the PAC or ACC need to do so.

Quote:Just paces from the Pac-12’s gathering, Big 12 leaders discussed a list of expansion targets, four of them residing in the Pac-12: Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah.

Other targets are from a variety of leagues: San Diego State and UNLV from the Mountain West; UConn, which is independent in football and in the Big East in basketball; and Memphis, from the American. There are others too, such as Colorado State, SMU and Fresno, but they seem further down the pecking order.

This article just shifted the discussion throughout realignment.

And there's just so much more here.

Love this. Basically, four conferences:

B1G (24 teams)
- Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Duke, Rutgers, Georgia Tech
- Penn St., Michigan, Michigan St., Ohio St., Indiana, Purdue
- Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska
- Colorado, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon, Washington

SEC (22 teams)
- Clemson, South Carolina, NC State, Virginia Tech, FSU, Miami
- Florida, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
- Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State
- Arkansas, LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma

Conference 3 (20 teams)
- UCF, USF, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Boston College
- Louisville, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Pitt, Memphis
- Kansas, Kansas St, Oklahoma St, Iowa St, Tulane
- Houston, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, SMU

Conference 4 (12 teams)
- Arizona, Arizona St, Utah, BYU, Boise St, Colorado St.
- SDSU, Nevada, UNLV, Wash St., Oregon St., Cal

(05-15-2023 10:02 AM)Skyhawk Wrote:  

(05-15-2023 09:43 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  This is a great piece. I'm kind of shocked that this thread doesn't have 50 comments already. It has a LOT of information and specifics and it's from a real reputable reporter. We've got tons of comments on Monty Show threads and random Tweets from people with agendas... but no one is commenting on what might be the most news-packed actual report on P5 realignment that we've seen in months? No one wants to talk about the group of 7 ACC schools that have been meeting together about revenue and legal options (and what those options are and who that group of 7 might be)? No one wants to talk about the Big 12 looking at SDSU, UNLV, UConn and Memphis as legit expansion options? All of this from a legitimate reporter from a major news outlet as opposed to a random podcast/YouTube/Twitter personality?!

Dellenger has impressed me as much as any reporter in this round of realignment: very thorough, researches the story from all angles, and isn't just parroting one particular side's agenda.

Probably because there was another thread started about 15 minutes before this one.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-970130.html

The hazards of a forum, I guess lol

And I agree, this is a great article.

And this all happened 2 weeks ago?

Wow.

Ah! Thanks!

(05-15-2023 09:43 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  This is a great piece. I'm kind of shocked that this thread doesn't have 50 comments already. It has a LOT of information and specifics and it's from a real reputable reporter. We've got tons of comments on Monty Show threads and random Tweets from people with agendas... but no one is commenting on what might be the most news-packed actual report on P5 realignment that we've seen in months? No one wants to talk about the group of 7 ACC schools that have been meeting together about revenue and legal options (and what those options are and who that group of 7 might be)? No one wants to talk about the Big 12 looking at SDSU, UNLV, UConn and Memphis as legit expansion options? All of this from a legitimate reporter from a major news outlet as opposed to a random podcast/YouTube/Twitter personality?!

Dellenger has impressed me as much as any reporter in this round of realignment: very thorough, researches the story from all angles, and isn't just parroting one particular side's agenda.

I'm like
Damn. It's 7 a.m.

This was the best realignment article of the year. Comprehensive all-around with inside info at all corners. Two threads, but honestly this article deserves two threads.

If the Big 12 doesn't land SDSU/P12 schools, it does look like UConn and Memphis are the top-2 G5s on his list. Comes down to whether he can convince the presidents.

(05-15-2023 11:17 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  This was the best realignment article of the year. Comprehensive all-around with inside info at all corners. Two threads, but honestly this article deserves two threads.

If the Big 12 doesn't land SDSU/P12 schools, it does look like UConn and Memphis are the top-2 G5s on his list. Comes down to whether he can convince the presidents.

Absolutely, I agree, Ross does great work!

My hunch is there will be much more "hot off the press" news coming in the days and weeks ahead.

(05-15-2023 11:17 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  This was the best realignment article of the year. Comprehensive all-around with inside info at all corners. Two threads, but honestly this article deserves two threads.

If the Big 12 doesn't land SDSU/P12 schools, it does look like UConn and Memphis are the top-2 G5s on his list. Comes down to whether he can convince the presidents.

I think it also shows how starved we are for unbias news.

Most comments have taken Dellenger at his word. If this had been Dennis Dodd it would have been met with far more scrutiny.

No one has trashed the article or questioned the reliability of the source.

(05-15-2023 11:17 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  This was the best realignment article of the year. Comprehensive all-around with inside info at all corners. Two threads, but honestly this article deserves two threads.

If the Big 12 doesn't land SDSU/P12 schools, it does look like UConn and Memphis are the top-2 G5s on his list. Comes down to whether he can convince the presidents.

The best realignment article of the year, so far... Dellinger has another 6.5 months to surpass this article with another if the opportunity arises.

I think the endgame is near (at least for the foreseeable future). My prediction is that UNC, FSU, Clemson, and VT move to the SEC. Miami, Notre Dame, Washington, and Oregon move to the B1G. The four corners schools move to the Big 12. Stanford and Cal join the remaining members of the ACC as they have peer institutions remaining in that conference. Wazzu and Oregon State become kings of the new PAC/MWC.

I think the SEC and B1G are done with expansion after that. Unless the college football landscape significantly shifts, I don’t see those conferences having any additional membership changes. I firmly believe 24 schools is untenable for college football, and unless more games are added to the calendar each season, no conference will move beyond 20 members.

I think the Big 12 is going to decide to go basketball first if the PAC stuff doesn't happen.

They'll accept being considered a Big East league.

(05-15-2023 12:05 PM)CFBLurker Wrote:  I think the Big 12 is going to decide to go basketball first if the PAC stuff doesn't happen.

They'll accept being considered a Big East league.

If they can be a basketball first league while occasionally putting a TCU in the championship game for football, that's one hell of a success.

The B1G and SEC are in a cold war right now.

The Big 12, ACC, and PAC are in a cage match and only one will survive by 2036.

(05-15-2023 09:00 AM)ArmoredUpKnight Wrote:  

Most comprehensive work I’ve seen on realignment.

Great read!

Must read entirely.

....

Informative report! Thanks for passing it along.

(05-15-2023 09:43 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  This is a great piece. I'm kind of shocked that this thread doesn't have 50 comments already. It has a LOT of information and specifics and it's from a real reputable reporter. We've got tons of comments on Monty Show threads and random Tweets from people with agendas... but no one is commenting on what might be the most news-packed actual report on P5 realignment that we've seen in months? No one wants to talk about the group of 7 ACC schools that have been meeting together about revenue and legal options (and what those options are and who that group of 7 might be)? No one wants to talk about the Big 12 looking at SDSU, UNLV, UConn and Memphis as legit expansion options? All of this from a legitimate reporter from a major news outlet as opposed to a random podcast/YouTube/Twitter personality?!

Dellenger has impressed me as much as any reporter in this round of realignment: very thorough, researches the story from all angles, and isn't just parroting one particular side's agenda.

Because most of us already knew about the ACC part and UConn.
and he’s not exactly correct on some of the other aspects.

In the world of disruptive realignment, the randoms will have it before “reputable” reporter. One just has to be able to discern, which is difficult if you have your type of agenda and bias.